Episode 288
Introduction A chance to return to normal is derailed when its revealed that Gintoki's soul half has possessed a dead cat. With their transformed organizations unable to help, the two decide to find the monster cat on their own.... It's unfortunate that it is in the possession of one Shimura Tae. Plot After a few failed attempts to switch back with the Egg over Rice machine, Gengai tells Gintoki that he is insufficient for the transfer. Gintoki realizes that when his soul split, the half entered a dead cat's anus and rushes out to find it, with Hijikata following. With the body missing, Gintoki tells a skeptical Hijikata that there is a chance that the body was reanimated. Horrified, they both went their separate ways to search. Gintoki stumbles across Katsura, who defeat a group of Jouishishi and reveals that he, Hasegawa, and Sarutobi along with their groups of Joui, homeless, and ninja, respectively have become part of the new Yorozuya. They leave to pursue rumors about a monster cat. At the same time, Hijikata stumbles across the Shinsengumi who revel in their freedom despite Hijikata berating them. They noose and drag Hijikata, rushing to confirm rumors about an alien cat. He is saved by Shinpachi, Kagura, and some of the Yorozuya and the two groups decide to attack each other. Hijikata and Gintoki are unable to stop them until the arrival of the humanoid cat; the two groups call a truce and attack the monster together. The monster soundly thrashes them all and flees. Shinpachi and Kondo lament their weaknesses despite following what their leaders established; Gintoki and Hijikata sadly proclaim that they were worthless leaders and leaves. Gengai appears and state that the two men need their help and that Gengai will help them understand what's going on... by recreating the accident that started everything. Later at night, Gintoki and Hijikata meet together with no sightings and state that they both will solve their own problem. They spot the muscular animal leaping rooftops to a particular house and they follow hiding in the bushes, worried about the owner's safety. The house is revealed to be the Shimura household and Tae appears to greet it calling it Dozaemon, horrifying both men. Dozaemon politely thanks Tae for helping it recover and decides to leave, while the woman refuses and ask for it to stay; it agrees. In order to find a way to separate the two, Gintoki tells Hijikata to pretend to be him and somehow persuade Tae to let go of Dozaemon. Characters *Sakata Gintoki (In Hijikata's body) *Hijikata Toushirou (In Gintoki's body) *Hiraga Gengai *Tama *Katsura Kotarou *Hasegawa Taizou *Sarutobi Ayame *Kondou Isao *Yamazaki Sagaru *Okita Sougo *Shimura Shinpachi *Kagura *Shimura Tae Trivia * Bufferin is a headache medicine. Much of its ads refer to the medicine being half made of Kindness, thus some of Gintoki's references. * Gintoki mentions Zaraki as in Zaraki Kenpachi of Bleach. Kenpachi has the same voice actor as Hasegawa. * Kumon-style is a supplementary reading and math program. * Takakura Ken and Baishou Chieko are actors from the 1977 movie "The Yellow Handkerchief" where they acted out a similar scene. Category:Episodes